- Success Stories
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Over 1,600 Great Lakes Water Samples Analyzed
More than 30 million people rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water, and they support a fisheries industry valued at $5.1 billion annually. Monitoring the Lakes’ water chemistry is a vital part of maintaining the quality of this key natural resource.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for collecting and testing water samples in each of the five Great Lakes as part of a long-term monitoring project. The agency’s staff collected more than 600 samples in 2024 followed by more than 1,000 in 2025. Through our contract with the U.S. EPA Great Lakes Program Office, CSS employee owners are responsible for analyzing these water samples for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In excess, these nutrients degrade water quality and are known to lead to harmful algal blooms in certain areas of the Lakes.
Data from these analyses are used to support evaluations of Great Lakes’ water quality. Learn more about testing water quality in the Great Lakes.
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Employee Owners Nominated for NOAA Gold Medal Award
Congratulations to CSS employee owners supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science for their nomination for the NOAA Gold Medal Award! CSS employee owners have been critical members of the team charged with the rapid development of spatial models that aid in offshore wind planning in the Gulf of Mexico. The team has collected…
Preparing and Delivering Samples for Travel to the International Space Station
CSS employee owners on contract with NASA delivered six newly prepared Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA)—a high temperature furnace with temperature and timing control for melting samples to create different materials and alloys—samples for the NG-23 launch, which took place on September 14, 2025. On this mission, samples are being delivered for…
Revamping Coral Reef Conservation Program Website
NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program is a cross-NOAA program that focuses on resilience-based management of U.S. coral reef ecosystems and provides scientific data and information to coral reef managers, scientists, educators and the interested public. CSS employee owners recently played an integral role in updating the website with a fresh new look and reorganizing content…